Several weeks later

Word spread slowly. Nobody knew what had actually happened at the north pole for days. A particularly harsh winter storm had passed over the north pole, and that had prevented the messenger hawks from taking flight.

News of the true sequence of events was thus delayed from reaching any one, which in turn led to chaos when the storm finally did clear.

Riots broke out. Countless birds were killed, and several messenger hawk handlers in the big cities were murdered. Wild claims were made that there was a conspiracy among hawk handlers to spread propaganda at the behest of the Fire Nation.

Communications were disrupted for weeks until the peace could be restored, and new birds could be found in replacement for the ones that had been slaughtered.

People simply did not want to believe the news they were hearing.

How could they believe it? They had just spent the past few days celebrating, cheering to the dawn of a new age. An age of return. A return to balance, and a return to the way things should be.

The way that the Fire Nation had nearly destroyed.

The people had been told that the avatar had prevailed, and that the Fire Nation had been dealt a crushing defeat. For a few brief blissful moments, there had been a glimmer of hope in the air. A glimmer that maybe, just maybe, this long war would finally be coming to an end.

And now… now it looked like they would be getting what they had wished for. Only it wouldn't be in the way they had wanted.

For instead of hearing about the victory of the avatar, and the triumph of good over evil, they were now hearing conflicting reports the said the complete opposite.

That in fact, it was the Fire Nation who had actually won. That in fact, it was the evil Fire Nation who had triumphed, conquering the last holdout city of the Water Tribe. Against the might of the avatar, and at the very last possible moment.

So it was no wonder that no one believed it at first. They thought there must've been a mistake. That someone must've been telling a truly horrible joke, laughing out of their mind about it somewhere.

But as more time passed, and the fog of war began to lift, the truth became clear.

And the truth, the truth was a wonderful, yet oh so terrible thing. It was paradoxical, just how so many people yearned to hear the truth, and at the same time, recoiled in horror when finally heard it, sputtering denials about how the truth could simply not be true.

After their denial came anger. Those damned ashmakers! They would get what was coming to them!

Then bargaining. Perhaps the north pole hadn't really been that important anyway?

Depression. Mass vigils were held in honor of the captured and dead people of the Water Tribe.

And finally acceptance. The remaining territories of the Earth Kingdom began surrendering at ever increasing rates. If not even the avatar - who could control all the elements with supernatural power - could halt the advance of the Fire Nation, then the war was truly lost.

There was no point in continuing the fight anymore.

Town after town fell to the onslaught of the Fire Nation war machine, until only a few major Earth Kingdom cities stood between the Fire Nation and total world domination. Refugees poured into them in droves, until it reached such a point that the cities had to close their gates, because there was simply no room left.

But there was also an equally large amount of people who began to accept what seemed like the inevitable. That the Fire Nation would win, and that resistance was futile.

Instead of moving east - away from the Fire Nation colonies like had been done for years since the beginning of the war - a growing number of people began to move west, into the ever expanding Fire Nation colonies.

Living conditions were simply better there.

There was no war in the colonies. There was food, and there was work there. Things that were in low supply and high demand in the dwindling Earth Kingdom could be found in abundance in the Fire Nation.

All in all, everyone could tell that a turning point had been reached. Before the fall of the north pole, the war had been stuck in a stalemate, with the Fire Nation being kept in check by constant raids from the Water Tribe and stiff resistance from the Earth Kingdom.

They had all been waiting for the day that the avatar would return, stop the Fire Nation, and bring the war to an end. That was what had kept them going. A hope for victory. But that hope was dead now. There was no faith left in him anymore. He had simply failed them too many times.

Now no one waited for the avatar.

Now it looked like the the tides of war had shifted in the Fire Nation's favor. The Water Tribe was no more, and free from it's harassment, the Fire Nation unleashed on the Earth Kingdom more soldiers and firepower than ever before in history.

Morale for the soldiers of the Earth Kingdom was at an all time low. Lines that had been held for a hundred years were rapidly collapsing. Food and supplies were decreasing at alarming rates, as the newly freed up Fire Navy set up naval blockades that chocked off the Earth Kingdom from the rest of the world.

But through all the doom and gloom, there was one place that remained free from the morose atmosphere that infected the rest of the world. There was one place left on the planet where - more than anywhere else - the people were jubilant and happy.

Rarely had anyone seen the people of the Fire Nation so elated in recent memory.

There the people sang and danced in the streets, and incredible parties stretched on for days. A national holiday was declared, and massive crowds gathered in the capitol harbor to greet their returning heroes.

Among the throngs of people, one name was called out more than any other. "Azula!" they shouted. "Princess!" yet more screamed.

"It seems you have become quite popular among the commoners, Princess," observed Aizon from her side.

He sat beside her inside her royal palanquin, a rare honor that the princess had never extended to anyone before. Aizon had only accepted it after she had threatened to physically fling him inside it.

Azula merely raised an elegant eyebrow at him. She looked resplendent and regal as always, but today she looked particularly majestic. Gone was her bleak, blue and white winter issue armor. Instead she now wore in its place a more relaxed, standard red and maroon set of royal armor.

Azula's white skin was radiant from what must've been her first bath in weeks. She smelled strongly of lavender, and her lips were redder the brightest ruby gem. Her royal hair piece sat polished on top of her head in a tidy bun, and it gleamed in the sunlight with a golden glow that was matched only by her equally golden amber eyes.

"I should hope so, Lieutenant. I did single handedly save the Fire Nation from humiliating defeat, after all. It only serves them right to worship me," she said, with her nose turned up snootily.

"Single-handedly?" asked Aizon, doubt coloring his tone of voice. "We set out on our mission with eleven other firebenders, remember princess?"

Azula sneered. "And how many of them stood with me to greet Admiral Zhao when it was all over?" she asked.

"None," replied Aizon shivering. Just remembering the gruesome deaths of his former comrades sent chills down his spine, despite the heat of the midsummer day. He had already had some horrific nightmares about it...

"None except you, Lieutenant Aizon," she corrected. "That's why you're up here with me, instead of marching along with the rest of the rabble behind us."

At her mention of it, Aizon leaned back and peaked out of the curtains. There was a nearly mile-long procession of marching Fire Nation soldiers and sailors behind them.

They moved in formation with practiced discipline, but Aizon could tell that many were struggling to keep a straight face as the enormous crowds cheered and roared. It wasn't every day that you got to march in a parade after all.

But for some reason, the sight of it only made Aizon feel sick. It was like the hundreds of people who had nearly died in vain were completely forgotten…

"I know what you're thinking Lieutenant," Azula's silky voice distracted him from the spectacle. "They look happy there, don't they? Heads held high like they deserve to be so honored. They march proudly, arrogantly even… when they should be ashamed for their near disastrous failure."

Aizon looked at the princess and bit his lip. It was unnerving, just how well she could read his thoughts. But even though she had guessed correctly, he would never admit it to her.

Those soldiers had fought hard and put their lives on the line just like him, hadn't they? It wasn't their fault that the avatar had showed up.

Azula's soft fingertips rubbed across his lips gently, making him lean into her touch with a sigh. "Yes, I can see it in your handsome silver eyes. They shine with resentment… Doesn't it make you angry, Lieutenant? Doesn't their brazen usurpation of our rightful glory enrage you?"

"It does," he answered without thinking, his eyes inexplicably half closed in contentment. He felt so relaxed, like he was only seconds away from falling asleep. "It… It makes me… It makes me want to fight them, to put them in their place," he admitted.

A strange thing to confess, he thought to himself, seeing as he had just promised himself that he would never admit the truth to her... Azula's thumb ran over his lips again, and those thoughts disappeared.

"Good Lieutenant. Very good. It truly pleases me to hear you say as much… Now tell me, if my father were to ask you about my secrets, like say, where our secret meeting room for the war council was, what would you tell him?"

"I would lie or say nothing," Aizon answered without hesitation. He heard delighted laughter, and then felt himself get pushed back into the cushions. As soon as his head hit the pillow, his mind became clear again like he had just soaked his head in ice water.

The noise of the cheering crowd filtered back into his ears, and he blinked up at the princess as he saw her kneeling over his prone form.

"Well done Lieutenant. Had to make sure you weren't going soft on me," she told him.

"What did you give me?" he questioned, frowning at her. It was obvious now that she drugged him in some way.

She smiled at him smugly. "Oh nothing harmful. Just a dab of herbal relaxant paste. That's all."

"Oh is that all?" Aizon growled at her. "Do you always go around dabbing mysterious pastes on people, princess?"

Her golden eyes narrowed dangerously. "Careful now, Lieutenant. I've allowed you to speak freely up until now, but I can easily revoke that privilege. I won't stand for insubordination…"

Aizon continued to glare at her for a few more seconds before looking away. "Of course, your highness. I beg your pardon for my outburst," he said in a tone that bordered on mocking.

But Azula wasn't the queen of snark for nothing. "No harm done. I am a merciful ruler, aren't I Lieutenant? Tell me I'm very merciful," she demanded.

"You're very merciful, princess," he replied through gritted teeth.

She tapped him on the nose. "There, now that wasn't so hard was it?"

Aizon shook his head. "No princess," he replied monotonously. There was simply no winning with her. She always got her way in the end.

There was an overly long awkward silence after that. Eventually, just when Aizon thought he couldn't take it anymore, he saw Azula peak out between the thin curtains of the palanquin.

"We're nearing the palace now," she announced when her head popped back inside.

"Finally," Aizon muttered in relief. He was going stir crazy spending all this time cooped up with the princess. He was just about to hop out of the palanquin when Azula stopped him.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

Aizon raised an eyebrow in confusion. "To the safe house," he replied.

"No, you're not. You're coming with me to the palace," she told him.

"To the palace? But I'm not-"

"A member of the Imperial Guard?" she finished his sentence.

Aizon nodded.

She smirked at him, which only confused Aizon further. "Did you honestly think that you could follow me to the north pole, defeat an ancient foe of the Fire Nation, and then not draw any attention to yourself?"

Aizon rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, yeah, kind of…"

Azula grinned at him. "Well then, I'm afraid to tell you, Lieutenant Aizon, that you have in fact drawn quite a bit of attention to yourself. From me most of all."

"But.. But…" he stuttered, not understanding why she meant. "Why?" he finally managed to ask.

She looked pointedly at him. "Well besides the small matter of your instrumental help that led to our victory at the north pole, there is also the simple fact that I like you. I've tried to deny it. I've tried to ignore these feelings that I've developed for you ever since you confessed to me before we left for the north pole. But I can't stand hiding them any longer."

She cleared her throat. "So upon heavy reflection, I've decided to consider your request to court me, Aizon."

Aizon's jaw dropped. "You have?!" he asked in astonishment, completely forgetting his previous anger with her for drugging him. He had almost become convinced that she would never give him a chance.

She nodded. "Yes, I have… it's not a decision I make lightly. But I'm no coward. I'm a princess of the Fire Nation, and the divine right to rule runs in my royal blood. I seize what's belongs to me, and take what I desire..."

She looked at him with a frightening intensity that he hadn't seen in months. "And I'm here to tell you, Aizon, that I desire you. I want you by my side as we conquer the world together... You and I will be the strongest couple on the entire planet! We will will dominate the earth!"

Aizon didn't know which he was feeling more of about Azula at the moment: terrifying fear or uncontrollable attraction. It was the most bizarre feeling he had ever experienced. It was almost like his body was fighting a perverted predicament of fight or flight, like he wasn't sure if he wanted to give her the biggest kiss of his life, or alternatively run for his life.

Thankfully enough though, Azula didn't notice anything remiss as she paused dramatically and rubbed her polished nails on her shirt, then smiled arrogantly at him.

"It is therefore my honor to inform you that Her Most Royal Excellency, Crown Princess Azula, daughter of Fire Lord Ozai, and heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, has allowed you the esteemed privilege to pursue her for a formal courting. Congratulations."

Before Aizon could even process that, Azula leaned in closer to him and continued in a whisper.

"Who knows? If you play your cards right, you may even be lucky enough to become her consort to the throne one day… Just think about it. My children would have your blood flowing in their royal veins… It's almost more than any man deserves."

Aizon gaped at her, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Just the thought of having children with the princess… he had never dared to dream about such a possibility. But now that she mentioned it to him, visions of little boys and girls that had their good looks and combined firebending prowess flashed through his mind's eye.

It wasn't until Aizon felt the palanquin stop that he finally got his wits together. The next second it was lowered to the ground, and the curtains were opened. Azula circled her arm through his and pulled him to his feet.

"Come Aizon dearest, I'm sure that father is simply dying to meet you."

They were standing in the courtyard just outside the palace. The noise of the parade was almost inaudible from behind the thick walls that guarded the royal residence. This was actually happening. After spending all this time fantasizing about it, Aizon was actually going to date Princess Azula. And he was going to meet her father, the Fire Lord. Only instead of meeting him as a bodyguard, it would be as his potential future son-in-law…

Suddenly he was having second thoughts about dating Azula. No girl was worth getting fried to a crisp for, no matter how much he liked her or was attracted to her. He tried to pull his arm out of hers, but she had an iron grip on him. She glanced at him, then motioned at one of the guards waiting nearby. The guard saluted and rushed forward, opening the palace doors.

"You're not getting cold feet now, are you Aizon?" she asked with a faux smile that screamed danger.

He better tread lightly, Aizon thought to himself, or getting fried by the Fire Lord would be the least of his worries. He swallowed heavily as he was nearly dragged by Azula into the palace proper. "Of course not. I've liked you ever since the moment I laid eyes upon you Azula, you know that. It's just that… It's just that-"

"Just what?" asked Azula, giving him a glare that would've turned lesser men to stone. "Am I not good enough for you? The crown princess not up to your standards?"

"No, that's not-"

"Are you dating someone else then? Just tell me her name, Aizon, and I'll have the harlot exiled to beyond the colonies!"

Aizon shook his head. "No, I'm not dating anyone else. If you'd just let me-"

"Perhaps you find the size of my bust insufficient for your tastes then? The boys at the academy always did seem to have a bizarre obsession with Ty Lee's chest…"

"No!" Aizon denied perhaps just a bit too quickly. "Your bust is… very.. delightful to me," he admitted with a blush, suddenly finding the gold threaded carpet beneath their feet extremely fascinating.

Azula made a pleased sound. "Well, what is it then? A few weeks ago you all but begged to court me. Now I'm having to drag you to meet my father."

Aizon looked up at her. "That! That's it! That's the reason why I don't want to be here. I mean, I'm happy to date you and all Azula, really I am. But why do we have to involve the Fire Lord?" he asked in a whisper. He was half-scared that the Fire Lord would pop out at them any moment.

Azula glanced at him as they turned another corner, then stopped before a pair of towering mahogany doors. She looked down and checked her fingernails for any flaws. Finding none, she turned back to look at him.

"I suppose I can't fault you for your ignorance, Aizon. After all, only a royal would be familiar with royal politics…"

Aizon looked down at his feet. "Right… of course. How could I forget? I'm only a bloody peasant compared to you."

His eyes watered from the stinging slap that she laid on his cheek. "I would not date anyone I considered a peasant, Aizon! You need to snap out of it now! This is no game. The Fire Lord could have you executed if you displease him!"

Aizon paled dramatically. "H.. he could?" he asked, shaking in terror.

She brushed some lint off his uniform and patted his pink cheek gently. "Worry not, dear Aizon. Executions are never performed anymore… These days Fire Lords prefer to met out punishment by means of banishment, or failing that an Agni Kai, but even that is exceedingly rare nowadays."

"Oh. That's comforting," Aizon replied sarcastically, not feeling comforted at all.

But Azula continued like she hadn't heard him. "As far as I'm concerned, your immense power with firebending is far more important than the nobility of your blood… I only mention it to prepare you."

"Prepare me how?" asked Aizon, looking at her with growing concern. Just how much did he have to be prepared for?

She straightened her own clothes and tucked a stray hair that was loose back into place. "You must be made aware, Aizon, that the second we announce our intention to begin dating, everything about you will come under extremely intense scrutiny. Everything. All the way from your boots to your brains. But your ancestry will be of particular interest for various factions within the aristocracy..."

Aizon groaned. "This is all sounds like more trouble than it's worth. Couldn't we just keep our relationship a secret? We did training together for months in total secrecy, without anyone ever finding out," he pointed out.

Azula sighed warily. "Training and dating are two completely different things… One does not simply date the crown princess of the Fire Nation, Aizon. There is a political process to it before we can even be seen in public together…"

"But we have been seen in public together! Numerous times! I was just sitting in your palanquin for the spirit's sake!" He tried to argue.

But Azula shook her head. "That's different. That was an honor I gave to you for being a war hero. There was nothing romantic about it."

"Whatever," Aizon said, giving up. Maybe she was right. Maybe it really did take a royal to keep all those convoluted rules straight.

"Just keep in mind that the first part of the process is gaining the approval of my father. You must win him over. I cannot date you otherwise-"

Suddenly the mahogany doors creaked open, and they both fell silent. It was time to meet the Fire Lord…


He was sitting at the mouth of a river, his legs crisscrossed and his palms held open. His eyes were closed as he listened to noise of the waterfall, marveling at the power of the rushing torrents.

He inhaled deeply, and each breath was clean and crisp as the morning dew. A gentle breeze blew across his face, and the peaceful sound of trilling songbirds filled the air.

"Aang," a familiar voice called his name. He opened his eyes and turned around. It was Katara. His heart beat a little faster as she reached up and squeezed the water from her long brown hair, making her mocha skin glisten in the sunlight.

She looked so pretty in her swimwear.

"Katara," he called back to her.

She opened her eyes, and Aang was once again struck by just how blue those beautiful sapphire orbs were. They were impossibly blue. So eerily, uncannily blue that Aang was actually a bit disturbed by it.

A chilling gust blew through the air, making him shiver.

"Aang," she called his name again, but this time he noticed that her voice was missing all of the warmness it usually carried when she spoke to him. "How could you Aang? How could you?!"

The songbirds had stopped trilling.

"What are you talking about Katara? How could I what?" he asked, backing away from her.

He was alarmed when she began sobbing, tears springing to her glowing eyes. Wait a second. Since when did her eyes glow?

"You failed us Aang! You let us all down. Me, Sokka, The Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the whole world! We were all counting on you! How could you Aang? How could you do this to us?"

The sky was darkening.

"I tried!" he said, shaking his head rapidly. "I tried to stop the Fire Nation, and I won! We won! You were there, don't you remember?"

The wind was picking up now, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Sparkling tears poured down her face. "But we didn't. All that fighting was for nothing. All those lives lost were for nothing. It was all for nothing. The Fire Nation won. We lost. And it's all your fault Aang."

Rain began falling from gathering storm clouds.

Each word she said cut through him like a hot knife. He looked up at her desperately, giving her a beseeching look. It wasn't fair of her to blame him like this.

"Please Katara. You know I did all I could! You said yourself there was no way I could have possibly known that the Fire Nation would attack again two days after we left. If I had known that would happen, Katara, I would never have left! Please I-"

She jabbed her finger at him, and she may as well have stabbed him through the heart. "It's your fault Aang! Don't you see? It's all your fault. It's your fault that Yue died in vain. It's your fault that you ran away from your duties as the avatar! It's your fault this war is still ongoing. And most of all it's your fault that we're losing! Do you hear me Aang? IT'S. ALL. YOUR. FAULT!"

Lightning flashed from the sky, crashing down into the riverbank, and sending sprays of water and chunks of rock flying in an explosion that bowled Aang over onto his stomach. He slowly got up and crawled over to where Katara had been thrown from the blast.

He choked when he saw her head bent at a unnatural angle, and he began to panic when he saw she wasn't breathing. "KATARA!" he yelled, shaking her shoulders. "Katara... please wake up… please!"

Tears fell from his own eyes as he pulled her lifeless body into his arms. Thunder rumbled in the distance as he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up, expecting to see Sokka or someone he knew, only it wasn't.

It was a soldier dressed in the uniform of the Fire Nation. Only this man wore a hooded cloak that was blood-red in color, obscuring most of his face. But Aang could still see a pair of shining silver eyes. They glimmered with an intelligence that whispered of a hidden malevolence.

Before Aang could even ask his name, the soldier raised his hands and shot out a blast of green flames. Aang tried to move out of the way, tried to dodge, but the weight of Katara's body stopped him from moving. He could only watch helplessly as his doom approached. But a split second before he could be burned to ashes, he woke up.

Aang took deep gulps of breath as his eyes darted around the forest clearing. He immediately located Katara, and almost fainted in relief when he saw that she was alive and well. She she was resting peacefully in her sleeping bag. There was no storm. No lethal bolts of lightning. And there was no mysterious Fire Nation soldier trying to kill him.

"Aang?" he heard Katara call his name. He glanced over, and was relieved to see her sleepy eyes weren't glowing, nor were they filled with tears. "What are you doing up?"

Aang said nothing as he got back in his sleeping bag and scooted closer to her. He pulled her sleeping bag tightly to his, his arm resting over her in a protective manner.

"Aang? What's wrong?" he heard her ask tiredly, but also with concern.

Aang opened his eyes and smiled at her before closing them again, giving a sigh of contentment as he began to feel drowsy again. "There's nothing wrong Katara… nothing at all."


"Rise."

Azula and Aizon slowly rose to their feet from where they had been prostrating themselves on the floor.

"You have done well Azula," came the baritone voice behind the shadow of the flames. "When I approved your little mission, I had no idea it would possibly decide the fate of the entire world… Tell me. How did you manage to capture the city from the inside? And how did you take all the fighters prisoner without resistance too?"

Azula immediately launched into her story. "It was rather simple father. As a small force of only twelve, we were able to sneak inside the city undetected. We broke into the palace and cornered the chief, forcing him to surrender. After that it was only a simple matter of convincing him to order his men to lay down their arms and surrender the city. Something that was easily accomplished with liberal applications of torture."

Dark, booming laughter echoed from behind the fires. "My, my. I have raised quite the ruthless little girl. The enemies of the Fire Nation will fear your name, Azula, I'm sure of it. You make me proud."

"Thank you, father," replied Azula in a respectful tone that bordered on reverence.

"Yes, you have done well. Exceedingly well, in fact. Which is far more than I can say for that incompetent fool Zhao. He nearly ruined everything."

Azula glanced at Aizon. "Zhao did help us, father. His assistance, though belated, was vital to our securing of the city," she said, stressing the plural.

The Fire Lord said nothing for a few moments. "Ah yes. Why of course. I do remember now that you did not go alone on your mission. You requested quite the strange assortment of middling soldiers and sailors to go with you… I assume this is one of them?"

"Yes father," Azula replied.

The fires around the throne flared in anger. "Why have you brought him here Azula? You know you can't bring guests into the throne room! Who is this?" The Fire Lord demanded.

"This is Aizon, father. He's a Lieutenant in the army reserve. The success of the mission and the capture of the city would not have been possible without him. He's the only survivor besides myself of the initial twelve, and he even saved my life," she answered.

Instantly the fires pulled back, and the room noticeably cooled. "He saved your life?"

Azula nodded. "Yes father."

"How?" the Fire Lord asked simply.

"We generated a combined lightning stream-"

"Lightning?" the Fire Lord interrupted. "You're saying this boy knows how to control cold blooded fire?"

"Yes father," answered Azula. "Aizon was initially to be inducted into the Royal Procession for his defensive talents, but after I learned of his ability to summon lightning, I took a personal interest in his training."

There was a pause. "Interesting. Continue your story," was all the Fire Lord said.

"So we used lightning to break down the door to the chief's throne room, but it backfired and unleashed lethal shrapnel into the air. Aizon threw himself onto me and protected me with his body… He was partially injured, but I was able to heal his wound before it became too problematic."

No one said anything for a while, until finally, the Fire Lord addressed Aizon. "I thank you for saving my daughter's life, Lieutenant."

Aizon hesitated to speak until he got a nod from Azula. He then bowed as deeply as he could. "It was my honor, Fire Lord Ozai."

"Yes, yes. You were only fulfilling your duty, I'm sure," he drawled.

"But saving the heir to the throne is no small deed, Lieutenant, and it cannot go unrewarded. Therefore, I am hereby promoting you to the rank of Major. You will get a pay upgrade, and a one thousand gold piece bonus. You'll be reassigned as a personal bodyguard to Princess Azula, since you already seem to be performing so admirably well in that position anyway…"

Aizon bowed deeply again. "Your grace is too kind," he said. But his gratitude was expressed prematurely, because the Fire Lord wasn't done yet.

"And, I will grant you one request. Anything you want. Nothing too extravagant or expensive. But if it lies within reason, I will grant it to you…"

Aizon was speechless. He had never expected to be so richly rewarded when he had jumped on Azula. He had only been acting on instinct, nothing more.

"Well, Major Aizon? I don't have all day. Tell me what you wish for," the Fire Lord prodded.

Aizon exchanged a look with Azula, and when she smiled encouragingly at him, he knew what he wanted to ask for. He threw himself into a bow so deep that his nose touched the floor. "Fire Lord Ozai, I humbly beg your permission to formally court your daughter, Princess Azula," he requested.

Silence reigned for a few agonizingly long seconds, with the only sound audible being the crackling of the fires surrounding the Fire Lord's throne. "Do you desire this as well, Azula?" he eventually asked.

Aizon was relieved to hear Azula answer positively. "Yes father. His wish is my own."

For a few seconds more there was only tense silence, and Aizon dared not move from his bowing position. Finally, the Fire Lord gave his answer.

"Very well. You have my permission. But be warned, Major Aizon, I'll be watching you. I'll be watching you very closely indeed from now on. And if I hear from the princess that you've stepped one foot out of line, one toe, then you're finished. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Fire Lord Ozai," Aizon replied, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice.

"So be it. Now begone from my sight. The both of you."

"But father-" Azula tried to speak up.

"I said, BEGONE!" the fire roared to dangerous proportions, it's sweltering heat making the air unbreathable, and she spoke no more. They both bowed once more, and made a hasty retreat from the throne room. It was only when the mahogany doors slammed shut behind them that they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, that went better than expected," Azula said when they caught their breath.

Aizon gave her a look like she was crazy. "Better than expected?! He all but threatened to kill me! He nearly did right at the end there too!"

She waved him off like it was no big deal. "And he promoted you, gave you a big pay raise and a generous bonus. Not to mention he actually gave you leave to date me. I thought he was going to throw you out of the throne room for a second there… he must really like you."

Aizon snorted. "Yeah right."

Azula hummed as they walked aimlessly down the hall. "Anyway, now I can finally do this," she said, taking a hold of his hand.

Aizon glanced down at their joined hands, and then up to stare at her face. As usual whenever these things happened, Aizon's face began to heat up. He couldn't help it. She was so beautiful and perfect. She constantly reminded him that she was a princess without ever having to say it. She just carried herself in a way that was larger than life.

Aizon still couldn't believe he was actually dating her. And to think only a few months ago he had been a nobody, just a trainee under the tutelage of a traitorous now ex-admiral of the Fire Navy.

He had come a long way, that was for sure.

"Princess Azula!" someone called from behind them.

Azula squeezed his hand, and they both turned together. It was one of the Imperial Guards. "Yes?" she asked, clearly annoyed.

The guard stared at their joined hands for a second before bowing. "Apologies, your highness, but your advisors have requested your presence by the main gate."

Azula nodded and waved him away. "Understood. Dismissed."

The guard bowed once and saluted before walking away in the direction he came.

She and Aizon watched him go until he disappeared behind a corner. "Aren't we going to follow him?" he asked.

Azula shook her head. "No, those old crones can bother me some other time. Right now I have other plans."

"Do those plans happen to involve trekking through hundreds of miles of wilderness again? Because if so, you can count me out," Aizon said with a shake of the head. "I'll just report back to reserve headquarters and stay there, thank you very much."

Azula got a positively villainous twinkle in her eye. "Oh, but Major Aizon. Don't you remember? You were just reassigned as my personal bodyguard by the Fire Lord himself. You no longer report to the army reserve. From now on you're answerable only to me. Wherever I go, you must follow. Doesn't that excite you?" she asked him tauntingly.

Aizon glared at her without any real heat. "You know, I'm beginning to think that filthy snow savage might've been right after all. You are evil."

Suddenly she leaned up and kissed him right under his jaw, pressing her lips against his pulse point. More then one part of Aizon twitched when she lightly sucked on his skin, wiping the glare right off his face. A gasp escaped his mouth when she stuck her tongue out and licked all the way up to his ear.

"And you better start getting used to it, mister. Because you're stuck with me now," she whispered as she bit down on his earlobe, making him moan and shiver in delight. But luckily for Aizon's sanity, she eventually pulled away from his neck and face, though not without him returning the favor and leaving a few marks of his own on her flawless ivory skin.

"So are we really going to be spending days in the wild again? I like it better when you bathe. You smell nicer that way," Aizon said when he got his breathing back under control.

Azula smirked at him. "Oh, not quite yet. First I need to attend a family reunion and catch up with a few old friends. Then we'll go trekking, like I know you love so much to do."

Aizon raised an eyebrow at her. "You? Catching up with friends?" he asked in a doubtful tone. He wasn't sure her idea of "catching up" held quite the same meaning as the conventional sense of those words.

She returned the look. "Yes, Aizon. Believe it or not, I have nothing nefarious planned. I only want to ask my friends a few questions."

Famous last words.


A/N: A much more fluffy and dialogue-y chapter. Very tame compared to the last chapter, I know. Not as many thrills or as much fighting. But worry not, the next chapter is a return to action and adventure. There won't be as much relationship building and drama like this chapter, I promise. On a separate note, I would like to say thank you to my loyal readers for your unending patience. Classes are starting on Monday, and I've been extra busy preparing for them. If you enjoyed this chapter, please review! Fav and follow too. Thank you.